The Mole is all wrong about the Isle of White
Our Graham discovers New Zealand’s White Island is very different to the one back home…
"So I have now reached the eastern lower half of the north island and an area called the Bay of Plenty which really should be called the Bay of Enormousness as it is so huge. In this area there are lots and lots of attractions but one particular thing caught my eye, White Island. At last I thought something with which I am familiar White Island = Isle of Wight. Wrong!!
On the short boat trip out to the White version my suspicions were raised when the guide issued us with yellow hard hats, a la Bob the Builder, plus matching gas masks and then proceeded to tell us what to do in case the island blew up while we there. White Island is in fact a living, working, fully paid up member of the volcano club and this trip was about to take us on to terra eruptus.
Darth Vader, or just daft?
Once you arrive you are immediately met by a strong smell of sulphur, remnants of earlier attempts to mine the mineral and clouds and clouds of steam. The small babbling brooks are in fact boiling brooks as the water is warm enough to cook your eggs in. The guide carefully takes you step by step until you reach the main crater which is about the size of an average village pond but there the similarity ends. The water is roughly 75c, a luminous green colour and steam continuously pours from it. I just about heard the cackles from Beelzebub because this looked like hell on earth.
An absolutely fascinating and enjoyable trip but it was not over yet. On the way back the bay of plenty through up more of its bounty. I have seen Dolphins before at sea but this was no school it was more like the local education authority of dolphins as they came at the boat in huge numbers. They came leaping in sequence in threes, fours plus parent and baby combos. I fully expected one to leap across the boat slap me in the chops a couple of times before saying in flipper schpeel ‘What you looking at?’
The answer would have been ‘an area of truly outstanding beauty and interest’
To learn more about New Zealand and be certified for your knowledge, you can take Tourism New Zealand’s online training modules by clicking here
For free resources and details on New Zealand places and product, click here
For a chance to win the Kiwi gift pack in this week’s draw, click here
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season